Our mission is to advance access and engagement with the whole Word of God for people of all languages whether written, spoken or signed.
Guiding Principles
C
TRANSLATION OF THE WHOLE BIBLE
Over ninety percent of the world’s languages do not yet have the Original Testament translated. To understand the New Testament, we need the Original Testament. Nearly a quarter of the verses of the New Testament contain either a direct quotation or make an intentional allusion to an Original Testament passage.
Without a knowledge of the Original Testament these verses draw a blank in the hearts and mind of the readers. That means that multiplied millions of people are at a great disadvantage when they read the New Testament in their mother tongue. That is why it is imperative that a new emphasis on completing the translation of the whole Bible is currently necessary in our times.
ACQUISITION OF THE SOURCE LANGUAGE
In recent times many translations into Bibleless languages have used a common trade language as the source text with reference to original language tools. There is a growing awareness that it would be beneficial if new translations and revisions of existing translations would use the original languages (Hebrew and Greek) as the source text.
The goal is that those on the translation team would be able to understand and use the original text and translate directly into the receptor language without any intermediate text so as to be able to enhance the quality and fidelity of the resultant work. This goal necessitates a heightened focus on immersive training programs which emphasize the acquisition of biblical Hebrew and Greek.
INCLUSION OF ORAL & DEAF LEARNERS
Two thirds of the world’s people prefer to learn the most important things for their life through oral means. Most all of the remaining Unengaged Bibleless Languages (UBLs) of the world are agraphos people – they have no writing system. The people who speak these languages are all skillful oral learners. They are the lead experts in their own language. The current awareness places them at the the center of the translation process. Thus, our training equips those who will serve these oral learners in leading the translation of the Scriptures from the source languages into their own heart language. This process may at some point produce literate tools, but it usually begins with oral means through OBS (Oral Bible Storytelling) and OBT (Oral Bible Translation).
Over 95% of the Deaf communities of the world do not have a Bible in their language. This amounts to nearly 70 million of God’s children who cannot engage with His Word simply because they are Deaf. As the Good Shepherd cares for ALL His sheep, we His co-laborers are to seek the welfare of all those under His care. For Whole Word Institute this entails making our unique contribution to accelerating access to the whole Bible in the 360 sign languages of the world.
